Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): School Soccer: Session Ideas - Passing & Receiving

Technical (Unopposed) - Passing Through the Gates to a Partner (15 mins)

Set Up: Set up gates about 2 yards wide on a half field and have your players find a partner. Each pairing has a ball.

Instructions: Players will initially start at one gate for each group passing back and forth through the gate. After a couple of minutes progress to having pairs dribble through the playing area passing the ball through the gates using proper passing technique to their partner on the other side of the gate. After having passed and received through one gate, the player receives the ball and dribbles to find another gate. The partner without the ball must run to the other side of that gate to receive the next pass.

Progression:

1. Players must pass through the gate with their opposite or 'weak' foot.

2. Set a time limit of 30 seconds and see how many gates each pairing can get through OR say they have to get through a cerrtain number of gates in 30 seconds. Try again to see if they can beat their record.

3. Keep the challenge of a time limit, but add coaches as blockers. Coaches move around the space and stand in gates to block them. When players see this, they have to find another open gate.

Coaching points

1. Be aware of space, don't go to a gate that already has a group there

2. Quality of pass - pass with inside of the foot, open hip to turn the foot out. Pull the toes up to lock the ankle. Use foot of standing leg to aim by pointing the big toe at your target. Strike the middle of the ball with the middle of the foot.

3. Quality of first touch - control ball with inside of foot before dribbling to next gate. First touch should be just out of a players feet so they can get their head up to find the next gate right away.

4. Focus on the weight of the pass. 

5. Run with the ball when going to the next gate

Technical (Unopposed) - Passing in Numbers (15 mins)

Set-Up

•Get the group into groups of 4 or 5 and have them number themselves off. #1 passes to #2, #2 to #3 and so on. They should be in a 10 x 10 grid.

Diagram Description

•Coaching points are calling their number before the player before them receives the ball so that they know where each other are. Players should look around when they don’t have the ball to facilitate speed of the passes. No one should ever be standing.

Progressions

• 2 touch passing
• 1 touch passing
• checking their shoulder
• receiving on the half turn
• using 2 touches as a mandatory and have their first touch come across their body away from pressure.
• having them not talk in order to encourage more spatial awareness without the ball.

Details

• Use hand to show your player what foot you want the ball to be delivered to.
• Communicate turn, set (pass right back), man on, 1-2, etc.

Technical (Unopposed) - Basic Passing and Receiving Technique (15 mins)

This activitiy is designed to have players learn basic passing technique with the inside of the foot whith the inside of the foot while introducing several techniques for receiving by providing lots of repetition.

Set up

Players get into partners with one ball and go to one set of two cones set 8 yards apart. Players will stay behind their cones and will pass around the outside of the cones. Groups will alternate sides to work both feet.

1. Players pass with the inside of the right foot and receive with the inside of the right foot to push the ball accross the cone to pass to the other side